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PHILADELPHIA – LeSean McCoy said his versatility makes him the best running back in the NFL over the last three seasons.

The Eagles star said that means he's better than Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, who was eight yards short of breaking the NFL record for rushing yards in a season in 2012.

McCoy, who led the league in rushing yards last season with 1,607, initially made that statement a few weeks ago in an ESPN interview. He reiterated it Monday after the Eagles went through another round of organized team activities.

"As a back, I do everything, from running, catching, blocking, third-down guy, mixed in and out," McCoy said. "There's nothing that if you ask me to do that I can't do. So, that aspect, I said the last three years, there isn't a back that's been more productive."

Peterson disagreed. He rushed for 2,097 yards in 2012, less than a year removed from major knee surgery, and finished second to McCoy last season, with 1,266 yards.

"He didn't really mean it," Peterson said in a recent interview with Fox Sports Radio. "If you watched his response, [he didn't mean it] … It was funny because when Stephen A. [Smith] asked him the question, he kind of hesitated, and he didn't believe it when he said it. I tell the youngsters, 'Say it with your chest, like you mean it!' "

McCoy said Monday that he meant it.

"Yes, yes, yes," he said when asked if he's the best back in the NFL. "Especially the last three years, for sure."

Over the last three seasons, McCoy amassed 4,983 yards rushing and receiving while Peterson has 4,860. Peterson has a big edge in rushing yards, 4,333 to 3,756, while McCoy has a big edge in receiving yards, 1,227 to 527.

"I think that's the biggest point I'm trying to make," McCoy said. "The versatile backs, it's hard to cancel them out because there's not a package you can't put them in that they can't perform in. If you're cutting down runs, what else can this back do? If the back can catch, the back can block, he's still valuable."

But the number that McCoy could really be watching next season has to do with dollar signs. McCoy is due to make $11.95 million next season under terms of his five-year extension he signed in March 2012.

The Eagles, however, showed after releasing DeSean Jackson two months ago that if a player is going to be one of the highest-paid on the team, he had better act like it both on the field and as a leader.

"I know that it's a business," McCoy said. "I'm not nervous at all. That's something we'll work on. When that time comes, as long as I'm productive and stay healthy and do all the right things, I should be fine. I think in this offense, I'm the best fit around the league and anywhere. You've got to have that type of confidence. I feel like I've been good to this team, and the team, they've been good to me."

The Eagles, of course, need and want McCoy to be effective both in the running game and the passing game, especially now that Jackson is gone. McCoy said the Eagles have already helped him out by trading for Darren Sproles during the offseason, even though it's likely Sproles will take touches away from him.

"It's just another option, another type of look formation that teams are going to have to be aware of," he said. "And, also, to keep me fresh. Leading the league is obviously a great thing to do. Running around with the belt is definitely fun. If he takes some of that load off in the fourth quarter, I'm fresh and I know a defense won't like to see that."

And if that happens, the question about the best running back in the NFL should be clear.